Since the publication of the paper by Blackfan and Maxcy,1 citing the advantages of the intraperitoneal route for the administration of saline solution to dehydrated infants, the method has been adopted widely and would appear to be one of the most valuable therapeutic procedures which has been proposed in recent years.

In 1914, Dandy and Rowntree injected solutions of phenolsulphonephthalein into the peritoneal cavities of dogs and found that the dye appeared in the blood in from two to four minutes and in the urine in from four to six minutes while the quantitative output in the urine during the first hour amounted to from 40 to 60 per cent, of the amount of dye injected (0.6 mg.) This is fully as much of the dye on the average as is excreted after intramuscular injection and almost as much as though it had been injected intravenously. The result would